Credit Scores and Vehicle Financing

Comments

Greetings all. Got a 1999 Accord with 282000 miles, a/c not working, paid off of course. Wondering what options I have if I can do no money down with a credit score in the high fives, no co-signer either. I did apply for financing at my credit union but they wanted the co-signer. Preferably payments under $250/monthly..I've been looking at cars in the $10000 range. Honda CRV is my first choice. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah, if you could get a $10000 loan at around 10%, then $250/month would be possible on a 48 month loan with no money down.

Question is, would you get 10% for 48 months with your score and no down payment? That's "iffy" IMO.

Credit unions have fairly strict requirements. If a regular bank won't help you out, you might be forced to consider the financing offered by a used car dealer (the "mouse house" they use), and that might stick you with a pretty high interest rate. Last resort, that one. Be very careful what you sign.

A reporter would like to speak with a recent buyer or current car shopper who stayed on the sidelines or was turned down for a car loan during the recession and has since returned to market or is about to buy. If you fit this description and would like to speak to a reporter, please send your daytime contact information to pr@edmunds.com no later than noon PT/3 p.m. ET, Wednesday, November 7, 2012.

I run the loan calculator for loan amount $12062 (1.55% APR), it showed that my monthly payment would be $510.74

I run the same calculator again for loan $11000(1.55% APR), the monthly payment became $465.77.

I don't understand why with extra $1000 in the loan amount, my payment went up for $46.00 per month. Could someone give me some insight on this? So I understand what factors affect the loan payment. Thanks!

A reporter would like to speak to a recent car buyer who purchased a car despite a bad credit report. If you have a ding on your credit report, but were still able to secure a car loan, and you would like to share your story, please send your daytime contact info no later than Wednesday, noon PT/3 p.m. ET to pr@edmunds.com.

A reporter is looking for a new car buyer who is financing their car for 84 months or longer. If you have an 84-month or longer term, and you would like to share your story, please send your daytime contact to pr@edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, 3/6/13 at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET.

generally speaking, the longer the term of the loan, the higher the interest rate is going to be because of the depreciation of the vehicle. I found some good info on interest rates on this site: Car loans information articles

Having loan information available before visiting a dealer is beneficial. However, in almost all cases it is wise to allow the dealer an opportunity to beat the loan. Dealers have resources consumers may not have which often allows the dealer to locate better financing.

It most certainly is not impossible to pay cash for a vehicle. It just takes cash.

Car Deal Expert provides a service. Such service is not free. Either the consumer will pay for the service or the dealer pays and passes it along via increased price. Such service providers are almost always best avoided. Anything these service providers can offer can be achieved by the consumer with minimal effort.